Vibrant reds and yellows grace the slates dispersed around the room, Indian culture embodied through each piece.
In the exhibit, “East Meets West.” Gallery 234 invites visitors to discover the diverse culture of India through the eyes of artist Felicia Follum, a former religious studies and philosophy student at UW.
Follum uses a variety of medias including ink, watercolor, markers, mixed media, as well as a creative use of handmade paper, in her art.
“The art is a reflection of her travels in India,” said Ashley Hildebrandt, Gallery 234 coordinator. “I think that makes the exhibit extra special, because going into the gallery you get to experience that trip secondhand.”
Follum certainly does capture the beauty of India, by using many elements of Indian culture. Lotuses, Hindi text, and the color saffron (a considerably auspicious and sacred color to followers of Hinduism) are some items that relate closely with Indian culture.
Follum explained one of the themes of her gallery as the ”mixing and combining of seemingly contradictory religions and cultures.”
One of her pieces layered intricate ink henna-like designs over paint, using a copy of the Boomerang newspaper as the canvas. This was an effective way to mix two separate cultures, though I recommended her using The Branding Iron newspaper instead.
Follum used vibrant watercolors to create a powerful backdrop, which complemented the subject.
One of her strengths is her use of texture to appeal to the viewer. For example, she used handmade paper and paint of varying thicknesses in her pieces.
Follum cut one piece of her art, “Legion” into three gilded frames, creatively utilizing spacing and golden borders.
She enhanced her watercolor piece, “Unknown God,” featuring a painting of a cross and adorned with wooden beads and orange flowers, by having actual woven crosses with beads and flowers strewn throughout the room. The physical objects helped to tie in a common religious and artistic theme.
The artist chose to frame her work in brown, black, navy and gold frames, but this amount of colors distracts from her actual artwork. Sticking with one or two colored frames would have kept Follum’s work better organized.
While this minor problem in color scheme may have upset the viewing of the art a little, it did not take away from the meaning Follum wanted to convey in this gallery.
“East Meets West” is part of UW’s annual Shepard Symposium on Social Justice, an event Follum hopes will help to stimulate cultural dialogue and arts advocacy throughout the state.
Hildebrandt said one of Follum’s strengths is her passion for social issues.
“Last year she had an exhibit in the gallery called #TheLilyPadProject which was also about social justice,” Hildebrandt said.
Her artwork attempts to address the stereotypes of developing countries and the threat waste and disposal of trash hold.
Follum hopes her art will encourage cultural dialogue and arts advocacy throughout Wyoming, and help viewers approach trash disposal in a new way.
“East Meets West” will be on display until April 10 in the University of Wyoming Union’s Gallery 234.
